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In 1976, the Institute published its first book titled ''Character Sketches'' which later became the first in a series of books meant to provide instruction on the character of God.<ref name="Chicago" /> The Institute continued to publish books and pamphlets and in 2006, ''[[In These Times (publication)|In These Times]]'' reported the IBLP earned {{US$|63 million}} (equivalent to about ${{inflation|US|63|2006}} million in {{inflation/year|US}}).<ref name="ITT">[[Silja J.A. Talvi]] [http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2450/ "Cult of Character"] ''[[In These Times (publication)|In These Times]]'' January 9, 2006</ref> IBLP is a [[501(c)(3) organization|501(c)(3)]] tax-exempt, nonprofit organization.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-20 |title=Trusting the Lord with Our Finances - Institute in Basic Life Principles |url=https://iblp.org/trusting-the-lord-with-our-finances/ |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=iblp.org |language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2008 the rise to celebrity status of one group of IBLP followers, the [[Duggar family]], through the [[TLC (TV network)|TLC]] series ''[[19 Kids and Counting|17 Kids and Counting]]'' and it'sits subsequent shows, brought a new wave of interest in the organization and its teachings.<ref name= "LA Times 2023" />
From 2009 to 2012, the Institute in Basic Life Principles began a steady decline, losing money, assets, and greatly reducing the number of annual seminars it conducted, as the public became increasingly aware of controversy (more specifically, allegations of sexual misconduct) associated with Bill Gothard, the then president of the organization.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pulliam |first=Bailey |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/conservative-leader-bill-gothard-resigns-following-abuse-allegations/2014/03/07/0381aa94-a624-11e3-b865-38b254d92063_story.html |title=Conservative leader Bill Gothard resigns following abuse allegations |date=March 7, 2014 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=March 11, 2014 |___location=Washington, DC}}</ref> The controversy led to Gothard resigning in 2014. Though they didn't admit to anything more than "a violation of trust", IBLP's Boardboard of Directorsbirectors accepted his resignation and, after their own investigation, concluded that Gothard had "acted in an inappropriate manner" and therefore was "not permitted to serve in any counseling, leadership, or Board role within the IBLP ministry".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://iblp.org/time-transition/|title=A Time of Transition - Institute in Basic Life Principles|date=June 17, 2014 }}</ref> Since that time, Gothard has not been involved in IBLP in any manner, and the organization's website only mentions him in its historical section.
==Programs and teachings==
== Leadership ==
[[Bill Gothard]] was the founder and developer of IBLP up until his removal from the organization in 2014. He has not had any involvement with the organization since his removal. Tim Levendusky has been president since 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://iblp.org/about/#Leaders_and_Beliefs|title=About - Institute in Basic Life Principles|date=January 10, 2023 }}</ref>
'''Tim Levendusky, President (2014-Present)'''<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-10 |title=About - Institute in Basic Life Principles |url=https://iblp.org/about/ |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=iblp.org |language=en-US}}</ref>
Tim Levendusky became the interim president of the Institute in Basic Life Principles after the resignation of [[Bill Gothard]] and was appointed to the position of president by the Board of Directors that same year. He graduated from [[Slippery Rock University]] and went on to teach physical education at [[Southern Methodist University|Southern Methodist University.]] He attended his first IBLP seminar in 1985 and has since volunteered both locally and abroad for the Institute, and currently lives in Big Sandy, Texas with his wife Angie and son Josiah<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-10 |title=About - Institute in Basic Life Principles |url=https://iblp.org/about/ |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=iblp.org |language=en-US}}</ref>.
'''Gil Bates, Board Member'''
Gil Bates has been on the Board of Directors for many years and owns a tree service business in Tennessee where he lives with his wife Kelly and their 19 children. He and his family started in the television show ''[[Bringing Up Bates]]'' which aired from 2015-2021 which aired for a total of 143 episodes<ref>{{Citation |title=Bringing Up Bates |date=2015-01-01 |type=Reality-TV |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4857508/?ref_=tt_mv_close |access-date=2024-12-11 |others=Gil Bates, Kelly Jo Bates, Katie Bates |publisher=Figure 8 Films}}</ref>. In addition to his work with IBLP and his business, he is also the pastor at Bible Baptist Church in East Tennessee.
'''David York, Board Member'''
David York has been on the Board of Directors for many years and attended his first IBLP event in 1969 in Chicago and helped launch the Advanced Training Unit along with other members of the organization. He attended the [[University of Michigan]], [[Dallas Theological Seminary]], and Trinity Divinity School in order to become a pastor in Wisconsin where he still lives with his wife Brenda and his many children and grandchildren<ref>{{Cite web |title=David York - Family Conferences |url=https://familyconferences.org/speaker/david-york/ |access-date=2024-12-11 |language=en-US}}</ref>.
==== John Bechtle, Board Member ====
John Bechtle is on the Board of Directors at IBLP and has spent two decades as the Director of Telos Institute International, a learning program meant for homeschool families with college-age children. He has a Ph.D in Ministry from [[Western Conservative Baptist Seminary]] and has written books and hosted seminars for IBLP. He is a pastor at his local church and churches in Japan and Austria<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr. John Bechtle - Family Conferences |url=https://familyconferences.org/speaker/dr-john-bechtl/ |access-date=2024-12-11 |language=en-US}}</ref>
===Notable prior leaders===
[[James R. Leininger]] was a member of the organization's [[advisory board]]. [[Sam Johnson]] was a member of the organization's [[board of directors]].<ref name="NBC 2020" />
Though not a member of the Board, [[Mike Huckabee]] has been actively involved and has openly supported IBLP, as has [[Rick Perry]].
[[Bill Gothard]] was the founder and developer of IBLP up until his removal from the organization in 2014. He has not had any involvement with the organization since his removal.
== Facilities ==
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